1893 - Albert Szent-Györgyi was born.

National Institutes of Health

Szent-Györgyi an Austrian biochemist who was awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the roles of organic compounds and the oxidation of nutrients by cells, with special attention to vitamin C. He discovered and isolated a reducing acid from plant juices and adrenal gland extracts. He called this agent hexuronic acid but further study determined it to be ascorbic acid discovered earlier by Axel Holst and Alfred Fröhlich. He also identified the steps in the citric acid cycle.